I have been thinking about fences lately. The fence up to my house in Copan is in need of some desperate repair. Well, actually it probably needs replaced. It is the old wooden stockade type fence. It goes across the front of the house and on both sides. The back is open to the pasture and grass land.

Another reason for needing repair is the fact that I took down two sections on the northwest corner of the lot. I needed to dig a trench for the electrical to come to the garage and we needed to get a dump truck of gravel, a load of concrete for the barn and some contractors needed access to the back to do some work on the back part of the house so I had to make a way for it all. I really have quite a mess…with no fence.

So I have been contemplating what kind of fence I would like to put back. The wood stockade does give the ultimate in privacy if that is what a person wants. A chain link would be nice or no fence at all is a consideration. But then my poochie dog would be a free range dog for sure and probably never return.

I am trying to figure out where the fence idea even came in to play. I remember reading in history class about the range wars the ranchers had. Some wanted barbed wire fences and others wanted open range for grazing livestock.

I suppose fences were nice to keep small children in the yard while playing outside. When I was a kid I just climbed the fence and made my escape. As I got older I thought it was cool to jump the fence. Now I just contemplate if I even want a fence.

Fences were a good way of marking property lines. They also could keep other animals out of your yard and possibly other kids.

I just am not sure I understand privacy fences though. I know it is because people want privacy but that is the part I do not understand.

See, I grew up in a neighborhood where we sat in the front or back yards visiting with all the neighbors. When mom and dad came home from work they parked the car in the driveway and we either went to the front yard with lawn chairs or to the back yard or sat on the deck. And the minute we sat down it was like a neon light came on and the neighbor from next door or across the street came over and we visited for an hour or so.

Sometimes my friends or my siblings friends would drive by, see our cars at home and stop, walk around to the back yard and sit for a while. Sometimes they even stayed for dinner!

All mom and dad had for a fence was a chain link fence. It was only about 3 ½ or 4 feet tall. The fence was there when they bought the house and it was just to keep the family dog in the yard and the neighbor dogs out.

It seems like the privacy fence thing does its job, keeps us private. So private that we do not know our neighbor. And our neighbors do not know us. I mean they come home, park the car in the garage, go inside and we never see them. If they bar-bque outside we smell the smoke and wonder what they are cooking.

Even Tim Allen on his show Home Improvement had a neighbor, Wilson. We never saw a full facial picture of him. Only the nose, eyes and forehead wearing a hat was seen. He had a good voice that matched his advice given to Tim Allen. But you never saw more than the top of his head.

I think this may be the problem with society today. We do not know each other. We do not neighbor. We work in office buildings with cubicles. We now have meetings by Zoom, Meet or Group. Our kids and some adults talk by text, Instagram, Messenger, Snapchat or TikTok. We are losing our social grasp on communicating face to face.

I do not blame the cell phone for this. No, I think it is the privacy fence that started it. We just want to be left alone. But if we do that how do we ever know our neighbor to help our neighbor or love our neighbor? The bottom line is we don’t. And we need to!

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” But Jesus was not done yet, He went on to say, “And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37 & 39, ESV) You can’t love your neighbor if you don’t see your neighbor and if you don’t see your neighbor you can’t know your neighbor. And if I can’t know my neighbor I can’t really obey the second greatest commandment!

So I guess this means the fence dilemma is settled, I will put up a chain link fence so all the neighbors can see me and I can see them. I think I will build a big patio and put up lots of chairs so a bunch of neighbors can come over and visit!

Tearing Down Fences, Building Friendships, Bro. Tim